Feelings
by evincis
Summary: Inspired by 2 sneak peeks from "The Evil Queen". No real spoilers for anything after "Selfless Brave and True". Snow sees right through Emma's obsession to find August's killer. She discusses it with her daughter and her husband. Story better than summary. Wooden Swan of course.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of these characters. This story is for entertainment purposes only and has no commercial aim. Please do not publish without my explicit consent_

_AN/ Ok, I have been absolutely disappointed with OUAT lately. And not only because they killed August. After watching the sneak peaks from "The Evil Queen" I got inspired to write this. I'm sick of Swan Thief and I miss Wooden Swan!_

**Feelings**

"For the 100th time, I do not have feelings for Neal." Emma insisted. The fact that Gold imagined that was understandable but why would her mother insist on it as well. "That was over a decade ago. I'm over it."

"I know. That's why I don't want you to give Henry false hopes about you and Neal." Snow gave Emma a sad smile.

"Then what the hell were you talking about?" Emma replied on the defensive.

"I was talking about August. Hear me out." Snow interrupted her daughter before she had the chance to deny it. "I know you Emma. Better than you think I do. You had feelings for August. Stronger than you cared to admit to yourself. And this obsession with finding who did this is proof."

"Whoever killed August is posing a danger for this town. I'm trying to protect my family." Emma insisted.

"Or avenge the death of the man that you loved." Snow answered. Emma didn't know what to say. "Emma, he isn't dead. He is alive and he has the chance to live a happy life with his father." Tears started to fall down Emma's cheeks. "I know that it hurts. Believe me. I do. Don't keep it inside. Let it out and you'll feel better." Snow hugged her daughter.

"I miss him so much…" Emma cried in her mother's arms. The two remained in a hug for a while. Snow's heard was bleeding from seeing her daughter so broken. Whoever did this to hurt her little girl was going to pay.

Even though David's suggestion about Regina made sense, Snow was still worried about Emma. Going back home wouldn't fix what they daughter was going through.

"What is it?" David asked. He always knew when she was worried.

"It's Emma." She said.

"You think that she will want to stay?" He asked worried.

"It's not that. At least not only that." Snow took a deep breath. "Remember when I told you about the price of August's redemption?"

"Yeah. But what does it have to do with…" David didn't understand until… "Oh."

"You said that going back might allow her to have her happy ending. I don't know if that would be possible." Snow said with a sad tone.

"I didn't realize that they were …"

"They were never really a couple. I mean, they kind of dated but they didn't admit that they were dating. He was mostly trying to convince her that magic existed. And she didn't want to believe it at the time." Snow explained.

"Did she love him?" David asked fearing the answer. He knew all too well the pain of heartbreak.

"She's only admitting it to herself now. When it's too late." She took a deep breath. "Remind you of someone?"

"Yeah." David smiled. "We have to help her. She needs closure."

"I agree."

"Does she have any leads on whoever attacked him?" David asked.

"Not really. But she suspects that Tamara isn't telling the truth." Snow answered. "The problem is that Emma standing up to Neal's fiancé might give Henry the wrong idea of his parents getting back together."

"You're right. That's why we'll step in."

"How?"

"We'll start digging." David said. "And we'll find the truth. And after we've locked up whoever attacked August, we'll work on fixing them."

"How? David he's 7 for crying out loud."

"I don't know. But he's alive and if Emma wants to be with him, she should damn well be able to give it a shot." Snow saw the determination in her husbands eyes and it reminded her of the time when they were the ones trying to find each other.

"No overprotective dad attitude?" She asked kind of surprised.

"She's a grown up. She can make her own decisions. There is nothing I can say or do to change that." David said with confidence that Snow knew all to well was fake. "August made mistakes. A lot. But we all have. If you found the strength to give Regina a chance at redemption than I'll have to do the same with August. Him turning back to a kid only erased his memories but not the consequences of his mistakes and if he really was trying to go on the right path he should have had the opportunity to fix them."

"That is very wise of you." Snow was proud of her husband.

"I have my moments." He let out a smile. "Come on. Let's go. It's getting cold."

They got up and started walking toward their home.

"David." Snow broke the silence after a while. "If it weren't for the curse and we'd stayed home, do you think that they…"

"Maybe. It's only natural. They would have grown up together." And then it hit him. "When Regina said that she'd take our happy endings, she really meant it, didn't she? Including Emma's."

"What do you mean?" Snow asked surprised.

"The curse was meant to take away the happy endings. I don't know whether she knew about the wardrobe but you going through with her would have ensured to separate you from me and separate Emma from August. As wretched as it sounds us being separated from Emma gave her a shot at true love."

"And now all that pain is pointless." Snow grasped the seriousness of the situation. "The curse was broken for us but not for them." David nodded.

"We weren't there for our daughter for the past 30 years. Now is the time to show her what having the support of family means."

_AN/ So? Did you like it?_


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